Yan Tianhen asked, “How bad is your relationship with your family ah? Aunt Ji said that you and her are siblings of the same father and mother. Aunt Ji is able to receive treasures sent over from her family every year. They care about her very much. It may be assumed that your family won’t be too harsh on you either ba.”
Zhuoye couldn’t help sneering. “You don’t understand this. The Ji family is an alchemist family known for their medicinal pills throughout the Five Continents. I am a Gu Master who refines Gu and occasionally also refines some poison pills. Moreover, one of my best friends is from the demonic path. Everyone in the clan all think I’m scum and eagerly wish to quickly get rid of me. How do you think my parents will treat me?”
Yan Tianhen couldn’t help rubbing his nose as he spoke with some embarrassment, “I’m sorry ah.”
Zhuoye side-eyed him. “What’s to be sorry for? I don’t particularly care either.”
After the waiter received a tip, sure enough, the food was served quickly. Not before long, four full plates were presented.
Originally, Yan Tianhen was full of interest and ready to gorge himself. However, the moment he saw every single bug, which had not lost their shape after they had been cooked, on the plates, he suddenly felt a chill and goosebumps began to appear. “Why…why are they all bugs?” Yan Tianhen rubbed his arms.
“The South Continent’s specialty is bugs ah.” Zhuoye wasn’t polite at all. He picked up his chopsticks and stuffed some into his mouth, giving off crisp crunching sounds as he chewed. “Don’t underestimate these bugs. They all grew up eating spiritual plants and their meat is delicious. Coupled with the special cooking skills and spices from the food cultivators here, these dishes are a delicacy that’s hard to come by. You absolutely won’t be able to eat it anywhere else.”
Yan Tianhen originally didn’t want to try it, but Lin Xuanzhi also expressed his affirmation after tasting it. Yan Tianhen’s desire for delicious food outweighed his fear of bugs, so he put one in his mouth while trembling with dread. As the saying went, bugs couldn’t be judged by their appearances. When he ate one, the door to an entirely new world opened, and he finished over half of the plate by himself. If Zhuoye didn’t repeatedly warn him that it was easy to get a swelling stomach if he ate too much of these bugs, Yan Tianhen could have eaten the entire plate.
When they were eating and drinking to their heart’s content, a group of cultivators descended from a private room upstairs. Lin Xuanzhi scanned this group of people from the corner of his eyes. They looked very young and were also dressed very tastefully. Among them, there were two people, a man and a woman, who were surrounded on all sides, like a moon amidst all the stars. Each of the two people had a jade gourd-shaped bottle hanging on their waist, so it was easy to identify their origins. Zhuoye swept them a glance and then withdrew his gaze.
The girl among the two teenagers somehow took one look towards this direction and was stunned on the spot when she saw Zhuoye.
She paused and tugged at the man beside her. “Second Brother, look over there. Isn’t that Zhuoye Didi ah?”
The person known as Second Brother looked towards Zhuoye’s side, and his complexion changed slightly. “Ji Zhuoye, you’re actually not dead yet.” Ji Yufei frowned and walked over, full of malicious intent.
Yan Tianhen lifted his head from the plate he had been engrossed in eating when he heard the voice. He looked at the young man walking towards the table. “Zhuoye Dage, do you know this person ah?”
The girl frowned and also came over, tugging at Ji Yufei’s sleeve. “Second Brother, don’t say that. No matter what, Zhuoye still has the blood of the Ji family flowing through his veins. Moreover, you must not let outsiders see a joke when you cause a scene in public.”
Ji Yufei glanced at the girl. “Since when was it your turn to lecture? Don’t interrupt!”
A trace of embarrassment appeared on the girl’s face.
Ji Zhuoye indifferently swept a glance over Ji Yufei’s face. “The fact that I’m willing to return is a blessing for Tailan City. Don’t be a dog who wants to catch mice and meddle in other people’s business.”
Ji Yufei narrowed his eyes. “Ji Zhuoye, you are not welcome in Tailan City.”
Yan Tianhen immediately laughed. “What you said is very interesting. Why don’t I stand at the gate of Tailan City and ask the city gate whether this city welcomes Zhuoye Gege? If it says he’s not welcome, then we can leave immediately ah.”
Originally, Ji Yufei had already automatically ignored these two ugly teenagers dressed in average clothes. Once Yan Tianhen opened his mouth, he noticed them at once.
“Who are you guys? There’s no room for you to butt in on the Ji family’s internal affairs,” Ji Yufei said with no trace of politeness.
Yan Tianhen was all smiles as he replied, “The Ji family’s own affairs? Just now, you kept on saying that Zhuoye Dage is no longer part of the Ji family anymore, but now you insist on classifying him as a family member. Is it because you’re old and your brain doesn’t work well, so you keep forgetting the words you’ve spoken right before?”
When it came to mouthing off, Yan Tianhen would never lose to anyone. If not for Lin Xuanzhi’s fear that Yan Tianhen would be beaten whenever he spoke irresponsibly, Yan Tianhen could mouth off from the East Continent all the way to the West Continent. However, if someone bullied them, Lin Xuanzhi would never stop Yan Tianhen from mouthing off.
Ji Yufei’s expression indeed darkened.
Ji Yuying couldn’t help glancing at Yan Tianhen some more. She really felt that this tall and thin young man was a true hero. He actually dared to talk back to Ji Yufei to his face and even indirectly cursed that his brain didn’t work well. One should know that no one in the entire Ji family truly dared to provoke Ji Yufei.
Ji Yufei fixed Yan Tianhen with an unkind stare. “Who are you? Don’t you know who I am?”
Yan Tianhen shook his head. “I am Wu Zhenshuai. Do you know who I am?”
Ji Yufei thought about it and never heard of a person with such a name. “Why, are you very famous?”
Yan Tianhen looked at Ji Yufei with an expression full of disbelief. “You’ve actually never heard of me, Wu Zhenshuai. Aren’t you too ignorant and inexperienced?”
Ji Yufei, “…”
Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?
Ji Yufei opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted by Zhuoye.
“We’re just having a nice meal. Stop saying so much nonsense.” Zhuoye frowned as he side-eyed Ji Yufei. “I can leave and return to Tailan City as I please. Why do you care so much? You can just go back and continue being a Young Master; leave me alone.”
Ji Yufei said coldly, “Do you think I like seeing you, a vermin of the family? Today, I just came to remind you that you’ve already been banished from the Ji family. Don’t let me see you hanging around in front of father and mother. Otherwise, I won’t let you off! Rourou, let’s go.”
A trace of unwillingness flashed across Ji Yuying’s face. She wanted to say a few more words with Zhuoye, but because of Ji Yufei’s authority, she didn’t dare to say more. She could only sigh and turned to leave with Ji Yufei.
Those people who originally surrounded Ji Yufei didn’t interrupt or say much. Only after leaving the restaurant did a young man at the front ask, “Who is that person just now?”
Ji Yufei recalled Ji Zhuoye’s indifferent expression and spoke nonchalantly, “Nothing more than someone who was expelled by the Ji family. He cultivated the Gu arts and witchcraft since childhood, going against the Ji family’s ancestral teachings and also strayed far off the proper path. His character is selfish and detached. He watched his clansmen die right before his eyes and didn’t even bother to offer a helping hand. He also engaged in private deals and exchanges with a demonic cultivator. He’s a failure who undermines the family’s principles. Therefore, he has already been banished from the Ji family long ago, and his name was erased from the family’s records. However, I originally thought he was dead. I didn’t expect that he was still alive; what a resilient life. He’s nothing more than a street rat. There’s no need to worry about him.”
That person nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.
Upstairs, the meal was originally a happy occasion, but with Ji Yufei’s appearance, Ji Zhuoye’s mood was no longer so wonderful.
Ji Zhuoye was sulking with a dark expression on the side. When Yan Tianhen saw that, he stuffed some food into his mouth and chewed before saying, “Zhuoye Dage, it turns out that you were driven out by the Ji family ah. Aunt didn’t tell us this before.”
Ji Zhuoye glanced at Yan Tianhen with a dark expression and spoke unkindly, “Why would anyone tell you guys this kind of matter? It’s useless.”
“Of course it’s useful.” Yan Tianhen blinked his pair of big eyes. “If we had known earlier, we wouldn’t have come to Tailan City. If you didn’t see that irritable guy just now, you wouldn’t be angry because of him.”
Ji Zhuoye paused a little, and his expression looked a lot better. He even smiled — although the smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes.
“How can we go to the South Continent without visiting Tailan City? Don’t you still want to buy some young Gu worms?”
In the past two months, Yan Tianhen had been learning the art of refining Gu from Ji Zhuoye. Moreover, he had already made great progress in a short period of time. Ji Zhuoye couldn’t help having a higher opinion of Yan Tianhen. Gu worms had to be meticulously raised with one’s blood from an early age so that they could be obedient when they grew up. Yan Tianhen also wanted to raise his own Gu worms, so he pestered Ji Zhuoye to help him find young Gu worms. Tailan City was the city with the most variety and most comprehensive selection of young Gu worms in the entire South Continent.
Yan Tianhen’s eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands. “Yeah, I must carefully select the young ones, and when they grow up, they will be generals who control corpses for me! Hahaha!”
Ji Zhuoye nodded. “There will be such a day.”
Ji Zhuoye was already someone who strayed from the proper path and didn’t play his cards in accordance with common sense. He himself cultivated the Gu path and witchcraft. Naturally, he had no prejudice against those who cultivated Imperial Corpse Technique, such as Yan Tianhen. Thus, Yan Tianhen was willing to let him know about Ling Chigu’s existence.
Of course, Ji Zhuoye didn’t know about Ling Chigu’s identity, or else he would surely be tempted to conquer Ling Chigu himself.
Lin Xuanzhi asked, “Who were the people who came with those two just now?”
Ji Zhuoye answered, “Looking at their clothes, it seems like they’re disciples of Jade Cicada Palace.”
“Jade Cicada Palace?” Yan Tianhen rubbed his chin. “Daddy seemed to have spoken about such a name before, but I can’t remember it for the time being.”
Ji Zhuoye said, “They are rich and imposing.”
“Oh, I remembered as soon as you said this.” Yan Tianhen’s eyes lit up. “The Jade Cicada Palace is a major sect on the South Continent’s Thousand Stars Island. There are quite a few experts who raise bugs in their sect. Moreover, this sect is very rich and is incredible at doing business!”